Skip to main content

Lund University Publications

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

Disability, socialism and autonomy in the 1970s : case studies from Denmark, Sweden and the United Kingdom

Rydström, Jens LU (2019) In Disability and Society 34(9-10). p.1637-1659
Abstract

In the 1970s, grassroots disability movements in many countries changed the thinking around disability and disability politics. Nonetheless, they were also part of larger political upheavals in the western world. How were they inspired by the socialist, feminist, and gay and lesbian movements? In addition, how did they relate to non-disabled allies? Organisations in Denmark and Sweden are investigated and compared to early disability-rights movements in the United Kingdom. Independently of each other, all groups developed materialist models, although only in Sweden and the United Kingdom did this lead to a linguistic distinction between ‘impairment’ and ‘disability’. Danish activists would rather use provocative language, while... (More)

In the 1970s, grassroots disability movements in many countries changed the thinking around disability and disability politics. Nonetheless, they were also part of larger political upheavals in the western world. How were they inspired by the socialist, feminist, and gay and lesbian movements? In addition, how did they relate to non-disabled allies? Organisations in Denmark and Sweden are investigated and compared to early disability-rights movements in the United Kingdom. Independently of each other, all groups developed materialist models, although only in Sweden and the United Kingdom did this lead to a linguistic distinction between ‘impairment’ and ‘disability’. Danish activists would rather use provocative language, while developing a social understanding of disability. They were also the only ones to discuss gender and sexuality. There are more similarities than differences between the movements, although the Danish specificities contributed to improvements in how Danes with disabilities can develop a positive sex life.

(Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
1970s, Disability, gender, Scandinavia, sexuality, United Kingdom
in
Disability and Society
volume
34
issue
9-10
pages
23 pages
publisher
Routledge
external identifiers
  • scopus:85065974871
ISSN
0968-7599
DOI
10.1080/09687599.2019.1605883
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
b5eb46d8-47f7-4448-8d80-ca63ae0d3894
date added to LUP
2019-06-13 12:35:28
date last changed
2022-04-26 01:35:18
@article{b5eb46d8-47f7-4448-8d80-ca63ae0d3894,
  abstract     = {{<p>In the 1970s, grassroots disability movements in many countries changed the thinking around disability and disability politics. Nonetheless, they were also part of larger political upheavals in the western world. How were they inspired by the socialist, feminist, and gay and lesbian movements? In addition, how did they relate to non-disabled allies? Organisations in Denmark and Sweden are investigated and compared to early disability-rights movements in the United Kingdom. Independently of each other, all groups developed materialist models, although only in Sweden and the United Kingdom did this lead to a linguistic distinction between ‘impairment’ and ‘disability’. Danish activists would rather use provocative language, while developing a social understanding of disability. They were also the only ones to discuss gender and sexuality. There are more similarities than differences between the movements, although the Danish specificities contributed to improvements in how Danes with disabilities can develop a positive sex life.</p>}},
  author       = {{Rydström, Jens}},
  issn         = {{0968-7599}},
  keywords     = {{1970s; Disability; gender; Scandinavia; sexuality; United Kingdom}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{05}},
  number       = {{9-10}},
  pages        = {{1637--1659}},
  publisher    = {{Routledge}},
  series       = {{Disability and Society}},
  title        = {{Disability, socialism and autonomy in the 1970s : case studies from Denmark, Sweden and the United Kingdom}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09687599.2019.1605883}},
  doi          = {{10.1080/09687599.2019.1605883}},
  volume       = {{34}},
  year         = {{2019}},
}